Refinishing A Wooden Box. 24 Jan 2024

In the process of some downsizing, I got rid of a very large, heavy oak desk.  I replaced it with a table for computer and sewing, with much more legroom and which I already owned.  The oak desk had narrow drawers that were handy, and I'd like a place for wallet, glasses, and keys so I don't lose them.

I bought this wooden box on Amazon.  It's 100% wood, but I didn't like how it looked.

I don't like the holes for drawer pulls.  The stain looks dull and dirty.  There is no protective top coat over the stain.  With time, I imagine it will look even more dull and dirty.

I'd like to add some drawer pulls, and ordered them.  But on close inspection, they will look oddly placed if they cover those holes.  And they might not cover them.  Hmmm.  

What if I turn the drawers around, so the fronts are the backs and vice versa?

That actually looks better. I like the contrasting of the two colors of wood. I don't know what kind of wood this is.  It feels soft.  Maybe pine? Eucalyptus?  I don't know.

I decided to go with a darker stain for the box, something light for the drawers.  I sanded it inside and out with 220 grit sandpaper.  Then I brushed with a pre-staining wood conditioner, waited a bit, and wiped it all off, rubbing it into the wood.  Then I stained the outside box with ebony black stain.

 So far, I think this is a much nicer look.  Even though the black stain is darker than the original, the grain shows more clearly.  I debated staining the drawer fronts red (it's an option the stain rack), I couldn't find any.  I have some old "golden oak" stain, but on experimenting on some stirring sticks, it just looked murky.

The next step, after  couple of days, will be a few coats of polyurethane.  Polyurethane tends to darken wood a bit, bring out grain some more, and can develop a golden hue, so I think I won't stain the drawer fronts at all.

Starting Alstroemeria Seeds. 22 Jan 2024.

 These seeds are for the Astroemeria "Ligtu Hybrids".  (Peruvian "lily" that's not really a lily).  I hope they will be a diverse variety of nice colors.

They have  complicated stratification.  First, soak the seeds 24 hours.  Then plant them 1/4 inch deep, and keep warm for three weeks.  Then refrigerate for three weeks.  Then keep them warm again, and hope for germination.

Edit:  I forgot the seeds and wound up soaking them an extra day.  I planted them in seed starting mux, and wrote the planting date and chill date on the container.

Now they are on the warming mat until the chill date.

Planting Onion Seeds. 22 Jan 2024

 Now is about the time I start onion seeds.  I can get them to garden size and in the raised bed, before starting more tender garden seeds.

I decided not to bother with the Red Wethersfield Onion seeds from 2022, but kept them just in case.  Onion seeds are considered short lived, only a year or two, so those might not be viable.  

I'm curious to see how the saved seeds do.   I am also planting a packet of bought seeds, just in case.

Germinating Eucalyptus Seeds. 22 Jan 2023

 The lemon Eucalyptus have begun germinating.  Actually, some have been visible for a few days, which makes the earliest germination time under a week.

The seedlings are difficult to see until the green cotyledons spread out.  There are about eight seedlings emerging so far, out of eighteen seeds planted.

So far, so good.

Accessible Gardening. 15 Jan 2024.

This is  work in progress.  My thoughts change all the time.  This is the first of what might be a number of posts.

Time takes its toll, and stuff happens.  Gardening is still one of life's great joys, with innumerable benefits.  But you can't garden if you are too limited in function, and don't have an accessible garden, and don't have ways to accommodate those limitations .  There are lots of ways to make it much, much easier to garden, without sacrificing quantity, quality, flavor, beauty, or variety.  It just takes a different way of thinking.

First - what are the major limitations?

Physical - hard work, height - high or low, energy required, strength required.  There are lots of ways to put the plants at a height that works best for the gardener. There are lots of ways to make a garden less physically difficult, while helping plants grow better.

Financial - if something is not affordable, it's out of range.  If every plant is pre-grown and sold potted, it gets expensive.  Seeds can be expensive.  There are many ways to save costs, while having better suited plants, a healthier garden, and a lot of fun.

Saboteurs  - People, small pests, big pests. Deer, slugs, feral cats, moles, birds, insects.  There are lots.  There are ways of dealing with some, but sometimes choices have to be made.

Climate and weather   - watering plants can require a lot of effort, especially during the hottest, sunniest months when the most growth happens and the effects of missing a watering can ruin months of effort.  Overwintering plants requires a different kind of effort.

Time - You can only do what you can do.  Using time in a thoughtful manner can make a big difference.

Information - If you don't know how to do it, then it may not grow.  There is a lot of false information out there.   A lot of garden lore is lost now, as older generations die off.  Some old methods can be so empowering, save money, bring the most suitable plants into the garden, and bring a lot of joy.

What else? -  I'll add  more as I think of it.

--------------------------

Physical Challenges.

Addressing physical challenges is the most obvious  way to make gardening more accessible.

The best position for garden tasks is within a foot or two or three, of the hands.   For gardening in the soil (vegetables, flowers) that can be accomplished using raised beds or containers.  Not just the six-inch high raised beds, but two or three feet high.  That's why I built some of mine using cement blocks - inexpensive, can be built a few blocks a day, can fill a bucket at a time.  As time passes, the bed reaches the desired size.  It doesn't have to be done in a week, or two weeks, or three.

(more to follow, and probably some edits.  This is very much a work in progress, and I don't know where it's headed).

Starting Eucalyptus Seeds. 15 Jan 2024.

 I wanted to try something different.  These Eucalyptus citriodora can be grown as an annual.  The trees in Australia are beautiful and truly massive, but the goal here is an annual, sort of similar to a mint or lemon balm, that will tolerate what has been a trend to hotter and drier summers.  If they grow, I'll try growing them in containers.  Of there are extras, I can see if they survive a border accesible to deer.  I bet the deer don't bother them.

I surface planted the seeds in a six pack on moistened peat and perlite seed starting medium. I dusted them with a bit more medium, then spritzed with water.

Again with avoiding unnecessary plastic, I covered with a glass baking dish lid.

I read they require warmth and light, so they are sharing an LED desk lamp with the Schlumbergera seedlings.

From the previous post, these are the seeds.

Stratifying Rudbeckia Seeds. 15 Jan 2024

 I like to start Rudbeckias early.  They usually need cold stratification.  

(The Eucalyptus will be in the next post.)

I label paper towels, using a sharpie.  Let it dry.  Then run water over the paper towel, squeeze it out so they are fairly damp but not dripping.  Sprinkle on the seeds.  This is a lot more than I'll know what to do with, if they all grow.

Fold it over twice, so seeds don't fall out.

Then place into labeled zipper sandwich bag.

I label the paper towel so I can place more than one variety into the bag, to reduce plastic use.

Schlumbergera Seedling Update. 15 Jan 2024.

 So far, so good.  I'm just keeping them under an LED desk lamp, very close.  Light is on about 12 hours daily.  At night they are covered with plastic.  I water them when dry, with a very dilute bloom food.

A few are growing their first true (tiny) cactus pads.

Rose and Blackberry Hardwood Cuttings. 20 Dec 2023.

 I stuck cuttings for some roses and blackberries into the soil in  two of the planters.

I cut pieces about the length of a pencil*, and slightly smaller diameter.  Trimmed off lower leaves (if any).  Stuck them 2/3 to 3/4 of their length, into the soil.  Covered the soil with degraded tree leaves from last year, to reduce weed germination.

I didn't use rooting hormone.  It usually isn't needed for this method of a lot of hardwood cuttings including most roses and blackberries.  It's OK if they don't grow.   I think most of them will grow just fine.

One rose is a climbing type.   The other is a No-ID antique type.  They are nice unlabeled varieties.

*For younger readers, a pencil was a device made of wood wrapped around a graphite core.  It was the size and shape of an i-pad stylus.  The user scratched it onto paper to write, which is sort of like typing but without a keypad.  Crazy!

Daffodills Emerging. 20 Dec 2023.

 The first of the daffodils have emerged.  

Only a few so far.  It seems early.  Daffodils are tough.  They can handle freezing weather.

Garlic Emerging. 20 Dec 2023.

 Almost of the garlic has emerged.

This is the German garlic.

This bed is Lorz (in front) and Music (in back).

There has been some slug predation of some, so I scattered more slug bait. 

Last year I grew it the same way.  They grew fantastically well.  I will try not to be too concerned about slugs and freezes.

Now and then, I move some leaves so the garlic plants aren't buried.  I think it's birds who move it back.  It would be nice if the birds ate the slugs.

Semidwarf Orchard Re-Do and Cleanup. 20 Dec 2023

This was last week.  I removed all of the deer fencing around the semi-dwarf apple trees, and made big headway on pruning them.

Three views.

I've been trying to get a few of these trained to the Goldilocks zone of bearing branches too high for deer comfort but low enough for me to maintain - thin, bag, prune.  This is about as good as I can do.  Last year I did that with the pears, which worked out *almost* just right. All still need more pruning and training this winter, but this was a BIG step in progress.

The Liberty and Jonagold trees are about how I wanted them.  The Akane needs more training, but is close.  Ditto for the Winecrisp.  I left NorthPole as a tuft on top, to pollinate the two triploid trees.

The grass is uneven - wait until more needs mowing, then do this as well.  No use wasting gasoline just for this area.

With the deer fencing removed, now it can all be mowed with the riding mower.  Much faster and easier.  I'll use grass and clover as ground cover, no more thistles and blackberries to contend with.  

Winter Garden Cleanup in Minitree "Orchard". 20 Dec 2023.

 I've been cleaning up the sides, under the espalier trees, and the middle, under the mini-fruit trees.  There has been some encroachment by aggressive weed grasses and this is the time to fix that.

Mostly I've been laying flat cardboard from boxes in top and covering that with a thick layer of tree leaves.  The cardboard will self-compost in a year, and the leaves will last about that long too.  Then tney enrich the soil.

The black containers will be roses.  The one on the right is the David Austin rose, Vanessa Bell, with  ground cover of trailing sedum and muscari.   The other isn't planted yet.  I'm mulching the main pathways with arborist chips, which will take my traffic better than the leaves.

About 2/3 of the winter work is completed now.

Jonagold Apple MiniTree on Bud-9 Rootstock, Delayed Graft Failure. 20 Dec 2023.

 While doing some garden work, I noted this tree was leaning.  Not a lot, maybe 30 degrees from vertical.  I bent it to straighten, and the rootstock snapped completely off!  Pop!

Bummer!  It was a nice size and shape now, blooming size and probably would have borne fruit next year.

Photo is after I cut nice scion for grafting.

I don't know why it snapped off.  Sometimes there can be graft incompatibility.  That happened a few years ago with a purchased Pristine graft on a multigraft tree.  Jonagold is triploid and quite vigorous.  Maybe too much vigor for Bud-9?

I guess I will just use the Jonagold for the Espaliers.  I have a couple of Bud-9 rootstocks that need grafting, but would I be setting them up for the same issue a few years on?  It's a good question.

It's interesting to look at the red color of the broken wood.  That's typical for Bud-9, which also has red cambium and red leaves.  I wonder if it would stay red as dried wood for finishing.

I think that trees on Bud-9 always beed to be tied to a post for support. 

Gingko Scion For Grafting. 20 Dec 2023.

 I collected these scion for grafting in late winter.

The original tree is a male, thirty years old, that I grew from seed that my late dad had collected.  It's a beautiful tree.   I wanted to preserve it at the Battle Ground house, and grafted scion onto seedlings that I grew from locally collected seeds.

But it grows weird.  I straighten it up, but it always grows almost horizontally.

I don't know why it grows so weird.  Maybe I grafted it upside down?  Would it grow that way?  I don't know.

The tree has some offshoots.  I decided to graft a couple of those with scion from the top, and see what happens.  I'll store the same as I do apple scion.

Collecting Apple Scion. 20 Dec 2023.

 I'm not happy with the red flesh apples.  They are too small, too sour, even astringent, too hard, and just not very good.  That's the bottom two tiers of each of theree espaliers.  Too much garden space to waste of something I don't like.

I read some where that lower tiers on espaliers are not as vigorous as uppers.  I don't know if that is true.  I decided to remove most of those lower tiers, and graft vigorous varieties that I know I like, in their place.  So it's an experiment.

I collected scion from the varieties Akane and Jonagold, so far.  

This is way more than I will use.  It's good to have choices for grafting, and they needed pruning anyway.  These are in plastic zipper bags until later winter.  I don't like using plastic, but these are washed, re-used bags.

There are three espaliers to re-graft.  Not sure about the third choice.  Porter is vigorous, and good so maybe that one. 

Schlumbergera Seedlings. 20 Dec 2023.

 Here are the Sclumbergera seedlings, from seed I planted two weeks ago.

I don't have a macro lens, so they are difficult to see.  There are about ten seedlings.

I had them on a seed starting warming mat.  The pot was covered with plastic wrap to maintain warmth, uncovering daily to air out.  I read they need light, so they are under an LED desk lamp.

So far, so good.  Today I watered from below and turned up the light intensity.  I have not done this before, so it is an interesting experiment.

Peach Leaf Curl Prevention. Mid Nov, 2023.

 Delayed posting.  This is the genetic dwarf peaches - more peach bush than peach tree.  The crops are very rewarding, and the peaches are delicious.  They get peach leaf curl very badly, unless protected from rain.

I left the protective cage in place all year, just removing the plastic cover in late Spring.  This time, instead of tying the plastic down at the corners, I used duct tape to reinforce the sides of the sheet, with a loop of string every foot or so.

Without rain on the nodes, there is no leaf curl disease.  I'll prune off the exposed branches in Spring, and shorten the branches once I can observe the flower buds.

Shelling Green Bean Pods For Seeds. 6 Dec 2023.

 Last month  I salvaged the last of the green bean pods to save seeds.  The pods were mildewed.  I let them dry out in a paper bag.  The timing doesn't seem important as long as they are crispy dry.   Now I shelled them, got a couple hundred seeds.

I think they'll grow just fine.  

It doesn't take a lot of plants, to get a lot of bean seeds.  Just let a few go to full ripening.  With around 5 beans per pod, it only takes 20 pods to get 100 seeds.  Maybe four or five plants.  My experience is, they germinate faster than purchased seeds.  That may relate to age and storage conditions, or maturity of the seeds when collected.

I stored these in a paper envelope in the pantry.

Based on my labeling, the variety is contender.

The plan will be to plant these earlier than I usually do, both for an earlier crop and for earlier seed saving that won't result in mildewed pods due to fall rains.

Overwintering Geraniums. 6 Dec 2023.

 It's so easy to overwinter geraniums, I'm surprised more people don't do that.  Especially if grown in containers, all that's needed is to let them dry out and move into a cool, lighted place.  

I meant to let these dry out in the sunroom, but they continued blooming.  They give some needed cheer, and not much care is needed, so I let them continue.

I can just move them outside again in Spring.  They'll be much bigger than buying a new plant, and with a lot more flowers.

I do have a couple of geraniums in the garage, that I let dry out.

The sunroom now.

Schlumbergera Update. Seeds. 6 Dec 2023.

 The Schlumberas have been winding down, but still nice.

The first to bloom has a developing fruit.  I've been pollinating a few flowers for fun.  The fruits take a long time to ripen.  I'll just leave them alone as the plants over-Summer.

I also collected seeds from one that fruited TWO years ago.  The fruit was a bit wrinkly but still moist and soft.  I washed the seeds into a teacup.

Most of the seeds sank in the water, which I guess is a good sign.  I rinsed a second time, carefully pouring off the water, then planted the minuscule seeds on the surface of moist seed starting medium, gently pressing them onto the medium.

From what I read, they might germinate in a few weeks. I'm keeping them covered but in the light.

I saw this one at Winco and bought it.  The color was more purple under the store lights.

Reblooming a Poinsettia. 6 Dec 2023.

 In a reversal of overwintering flowers, I over-summered this poinsettia.  Basically, I treated it like any other container plant during the summer, watering and some fertilizer.  In the fall, I moved it into the sunroom.  I avoided letting it get any artificial light, just what the sun provided.  It rebloomed nicely, nice and red.

This is my first try at reblooming a Poinsettia.  Here are my observations.

1.  The original soil might be fine for greenhouse growth and transport, but has really lousy water retention and once dry, can't be re-wetted easily.  Once I repotted the plant into a "normal" potting soil, removing most of the old peat.   It did much better and was much easier to keep watered after repotting.

2.  The stems are quite brittle and break easily.  They need support or protection.

3.  The flower was smaller than for the purchased plant.  I still like it anyway, very pretty.

We'll see if I can keep it another year.  I'd like to prune it back a bit to make it bushier.

Meanwhile, I bought a new one at Winco.

We'll see how that over-summers too.  It's kind of fun doing that.

Blackberry Pruning. Late Nov, 2023.

 I finished pruning the thornless horticultural blackberry bushes.  The main one is the variety "Triple Crown", which is the best producing, best tasting and least trouble of the several varieties that I have tried (Until Ponca).  Triple Crown is quite vigorous.   

Each winter, I remove the old stem that produced this year.  It's done and won't bear again.  During the summer,  I tip the new growth at about four feet tall.  That produces new branches, that I prune back to about 18 inches long, in winter .  The exact length doesn't seem to be too important.

Finally, I covered the old tree leaf mulch with a fresh layer of tree leaves, about 6 inches thick.  I've done that for ten years.  The old gummy clay (winter) and brick hard clay (summer) is now a soft loam, like forest floor.  These never get fertilizer or summer water, and bear generous crops of  big, delicious blackberries each summer.

I have a second bed on the south side of an old shed.  They are not as old, maybe three to four years (Triple Crown from cuttings) and two years (Ponca, mail order).  The shed is ancient, snd sinking into the ground.  The siding is in bad shape.  I dug a trench by the shed, to allow the siding to dry.  I pruned the Triple Crown as noted above.  Ponca is a brachytic dwarf - the internodes are quite short.  So it doesn't grow nearly as tall as the others.  Ponca's berries are bigger than Triple Crown's and I think the flavor is the best of all I have tried.

The one caution I have about Ponca, so far, is the berries are so heavy that the branches break off.  I added a fencepost to tie supports for next year.

The brachytic dwarf character shows in this photo, with Ponca in front and Triple Crown in back.

Fig Tree Pruning. Late Nov, 2023

 I've been under the weather a bit, so haven't posted.  A couple of weeks ago I pruned the fig trees by the access road.  I think their last major pruning was two years ago, so they needed some shortening.  These don't bear a lot, so far.  I think that's the location which doesn't get a lot of sun, but they do bear some.  They are good for privacy in that location.

This is Brunswick.  I grew it from a cutting about 20 years ago in Vancouver, and moved it to Battle Ground about 10 years ago.   It did bear a pretty good crop this year, the biggest figs of any variety I grow, possibly the sweetest, and very nice flavor.  It is usually shy bearing.

This is Smith Fig.  It is roughly 8 years old.  The origin is Louisiana.  Many have considered Smith to be one of the best tasting of all fig varieties.  I agree, although this is not a prime climate for this  more heat adapted, variety.  So far it has been pretty shy bearing but had a great crop this year.  

This is Adriatic.  The figs are nice and big, but production minimal for me so far.  It's only about 7 years old.

Here is the row of fig trees.  It also shows a two year old Hardy Chicago and a 7 year old Champagne Fig.    Hardy Chicago has always been a great bearing fig variety for me, and good tasting figs with lots of "figgy" flavor.  Champagne is very mild, and so far doesn't bear well.

This pruning was fairly drastic, taking about 1/2 of the the height.  They are all about 6 feet tall now, a good height to manage growth, pinch stem tips to encourage fig production, and pick figs.  Deer haven't been bothering them.    By trimming back, they should also have more low growth, to help with the privacy aspect.  One drawback, pruning too much growth might delay production for a year.  We will see.

The last photo shows tree leaf mulch too.  I did not remove the dropped fig leaves.  By themselves, they don't make a good mulch, because they are so fleshy they break down too fast.  By adding tree leaves on top, they should stay almost weed-free for another year.  The leaves also build soil humus and soil life, and manage soil water.  I never water these during the hot, dry summer.

Nice Holiday Cacti (Schlumbergera) In Bloom. 15 Nov 23.

 The Schlumbergera bus are opening.  It's a nice show so far.

They don't get much special treatment.  I keep them on the North side of the house for the summer, bring them in during fall.  Give a little flower fertilizer.  Several are cuttings from older plants that became too big, a couple of years ago.

Edit - here's one more.

A couple of others are not blooming yet.  That will extend the show.